User Engagement Signals (CTR, Dwell Time, Pogo‑Sticking) and Their Role in Suppression

User engagement signals like CTR, dwell time, and pogo-sticking act as behavioral indicators that influence Google rankings indirectly by signaling content relevance and user satisfaction, potentially leading to suppression (downranking) of pages with poor performance.

Key Signals and Their Impact

• CTR (Click-Through Rate): Measures the percentage of users clicking a search result. High CTR with low engagement (e.g., quick exits) suggests misleading snippets, prompting Google systems like RankBrain and NavBoost to interpret it as low relevance, which can suppress rankings.
• Dwell Time: Time spent on a page before returning to SERPs (often called "long click" vs. "short click"). Top-ranking pages average 3+ minutes; low dwell time (under 1 minute) indicates unmet intent, correlating with lower rankings as it signals poor content quality.
• Pogo-Sticking: Users quickly bouncing back to SERPs and clicking other results. This strong dissatisfaction signal, especially with low dwell time, tells Google the page failed user needs, leading to algorithmic downranking.

Role in Suppression

These metrics aren't direct ranking factors but feed into Google's machine learning (e.g., RankBrain, NavBoost) to assess post-click satisfaction. Poor signals—high bounce rates, short sessions, or pogo-sticking—trigger suppression by demoting pages in favor of those retaining users longer. For example, high-CTR pages with rapid pogo-sticking get flagged for irrelevance.

Optimization Strategies

• Match snippets to content for accurate expectations, reducing pogo-sticking.
• Boost dwell time with comprehensive content, videos, internal links, and visuals (e.g., videos can increase time on page by 400%).
• Monitor via Google Analytics: Segment search traffic for low engagement patterns.
• Aim for relative benchmarks; e.g., 2-4 minutes session duration is strong, varying by page type (e.g., low for contact pages).

Modern views (2025) emphasize holistic signals like scroll depth and repeat visits over isolated dwell time, as true engagement drives algorithmic favor.